Every now and then, Pro Hockey Talk will ask for insight from some of the best team bloggers out there. For this feature, we asked a simple question: “Who is your team’s most frustrating player?” Just for fun, Brandon and I also provided our “guesses” as to who that player might be.

First, here are our guesses for Chicago.

Brandon: Cristobal Huet – If I even need to explain this one, then you don’t follow hockey. At all.

James: Cristobal Huet – I had the urge to play the devil’s advocate and pick some lesser scapegoat like big goober Dustin Byfuglien or smaller goober Kris Versteeg, but really, Chicago’s biggest problem is their pricey goalie.

To share the Chicago perspective, we asked the guys at HockeeNight to put in their two cents. Your humble author is expected to appear on their podcast tomorrow night.

Chris Troha: Dustin Byfuglien

I bet you thought it’d be Cristobal Huet (especially after the dump he took in net on Thursday). Nope. Huet’s been terrible in the second half, and completely lost confidence, but he’s a goalie, and they’re nuts. Standard expectations don’t work with goaltenders.

No, I’ll go with the guy who has the most untapped potential: Dustin Byfuglien. At 6’4″ and 257 lbs, Big Buff burst on the scene during the 2007-08 season, scoring 19 goals in 67 games, during which time he changed positions from defense to wing. Then general manager Dale Tallon rewarded Byfuglien with a contract extension worth $3 million per year through the 2010-2011 season. Like Tallon, I think most Hawks fans had visions of Buff skating on the left wing of Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane; using his size to punish defensemen and set screens, and his above average hands and shot to score garbage goals off rebounds.

Instead what we got is a guy who still can’t bring a consistent effort. It’s one thing to be bad at hockey, but Byfuglien is just good enough to drive you nuts. He’ll have 5-7 game stretches in the season where he looks like world beater. Laying guys out, fighting, scoring goals, just enough to make you think he’s finally flipped the switch, and then…nothing. He disappears for two weeks at a time. For whatever reason, Dustin can’t seem to stay focused unless the coaching staff is moving him from the 1st line to the 3rd line then down to the 4th and maybe up to the 2nd if he plays well there, and then finally making him a healthy scratch. A guy like this who can’t keep himself motivated with a big contract is bound to frustrate.

Anyway, if you’ve been watching the Hawks, you’ll know they’ve had some injuries on defense lately, and this has got Buff moved back to his original position where he’s played pretty well so far. Of course, it’s only a matter of time before he gets comfortable.